Relentless Ronnie O'Sullivan brushes aside Luca Brecel to seal inaugural World Masters title

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Relentless Ronnie O'Sullivan brushes aside Luca Brecel to seal inaugural World Masters title

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O'Sullivan was at his brilliant best as he won in Saudi
O'Sullivan was at his brilliant best as he won in SaudiAFP
Ronnie O'Sullivan (48) continued his superb season as he cruised past Luca Brecel (28) 5-2 to clinch the inaugural World Masters of Snooker title in Saudi Arabia.

With the score locked at 2-2 going into the final session, O'Sullivan came out from the interval all guns blazing, reeling off the last frames with breaks of 121, 69 and 124 - his fifth and sixth centuries of the competition.

O'Sullivan's victory means he breaks the record for most money won in a single season, with a potential half a million still on the cards ahead of the World Snooker Championship in April.

Held during Riyadh Season, the World Masters is the first-ever professional snooker tournament to take place in Saudi Arabia, offering a huge cash sum of £250,000 to the winner.

When quizzed on whether he would return to the Middle East, he said: “Hopefully. These are the tournaments you want to play in. Great tournament, great crowd, one table, music going during games. It was like going 25 years back when I was young.

“It all feels like a really nice festival. It's Riyadh season you know, you've got the boxing on Friday night, Formula 1 (this weekend)...everyone wants to get to Saudi.

Saudi is like a powerhouse so if anyone can inject anything into snooker it’s the people who put this tournament on. Should be a 10-year contract tomorrow.”

Despite the loss, it has been a positive few days for Brecel, reaching a first final since September. He has been looking to recapture his best form ahead of his World Championship title defence in a few months.

O'Sullivan made a rapid start to the game, looking in far better form than he did in his semi-final against Judd Trump as he claimed the opening frame with a superb break of 95.

However, his Belgian opponent soon bounced back, continuing where he left off after his scintillating afternoon performance. The world champion pounced on a few sloppy shots from 'The Rocket', winning back-to-back frames with aggressive and ruthless potting.

Brecel looked on course to go 3-1 up, but O'Sullivan punished an error to rack up another big break of 94 to make it 2-2, before finishing off the contest in emphatic style. It is his 79th professional crown and fifth of the season, which includes major triumphs at the UK Championship and the Masters.

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